As cold weather sets in, heating your home begins to become a real challenge for many reasons. You need to not only warm yourself, but also heat the surrounding space to a comfortable temperature. An excellent option for an alternative heat source in the house can be a gas, wood-burning or electric fireplace, which, in addition to its main function, will provide expressiveness to the interior, emphasizing its individual style.
Being a bright element of decor, modern fireplaces for the home today are installed in both indoor and outdoor spaces, including verandas and terraces attached to the house, becoming a favorite relaxation spot for the whole family. Their presence in the interior creates a special magical atmosphere with a pleasant feeling of extraordinary comfort.
A fireplace made of natural stone looks great in any interior
Fireplaces for the home - luxury or necessity
There is a perception that fireplaces for the home have a reputation for being environmentally harmful heating devices due to their inefficiency and emissions, which can also have adverse health effects. However, this is nothing more than another myth that you should not believe.
The correct choice of fireplace and skillful handling of fuel eliminate the risk of fire and reduce the presence of emissions to a minimum level that is absolutely harmless to human health.
Questions that must be taken into account when installing a fireplace in the house
- Emissions . Burning wood, compared to burning ethanol or gas, requires different additional appliances due to the combustion products produced. These emissions can cause health and other problems not only for you, but also for your neighbors.
- Ventilation . When you use wood, gas or coal as a fuel source, emissions must be removed through a chimney. Ethanol is a very clean burning fuel and does not require a smokestack. However, it is important to be aware of the ventilation problems associated with ethanol combustion sites.
For complete combustion of fuel, the chimney must have excellent draft
Stylish fireplace with original niches for firewood
The closed type of fireplace is considered the safest
A fireplace in a house is not only a source of heat, but also a beautiful interior decoration.
Building codes govern the construction of fireplaces and chimneys, so you should consult a professional before starting work as regulations vary.
Energy costs
When choosing a fireplace, you need to consider the cost, availability and storage of different types of fuel for your fireplace. Wood is available from many sources, some of which are free (for example firewood from a fallen tree in the forest). However, wood is bulky and requires a lot of storage space. Gas is also easy to buy and store, but you need access to a gas pipeline, or purchasing it in cylinders.
If you're connected to the gas network, gas will be relatively cheap, but if you only have access to bottled gas, heating costs can be as expensive as electricity. Ethanol is easier and cheaper to buy because renewable energy sources are becoming very popular.
Interesting to know! Contrary to popular belief, ethanol-based portable heating structures can produce significant amounts of heat.
An unusual fireplace made of black matte metal will fit perfectly into the Scandinavian style of the interior.
A cheerful fireplace in the shape of an old TV will fit perfectly into a retro-style interior
Beautiful open hanging fireplace
Installation options
There are quite a few variations of brick fireplaces and stoves. It all depends on the imagination of the specialist and the wishes of the owner of the house. They all differ in their functionality and installation complexity. The most optimal versions of such furnaces are:
- Finca. Equipped with a fireplace and performs a heating function. Finka is capable of heating a room of up to 100-130 sq.m. A brick finca fireplace can maintain a fire for 6 hours.
- Swede. An excellent option for a brick stove-fireplace. Can heat a house of 30 sq.m. Most often, the firebox is located in the kitchen, and the rear wall of the structure heats the living room. The Swedish oven takes up only one square meter and is very compact.
- Dutch. This stove does not require a lot of materials for construction; the firebox itself is lined with fireclay bricks. The advantage of the Dutch oven is that it can heat several floors at once. The brick Dutch oven is small in size, so it is perfect for a country house.
- Russian stove. A classic Russian version of a fireplace, which is suitable only for a summer house. It is made of refractory and fireclay bricks in the most active combustion zones. At the request of the owners, the fireplace in a Russian stove can be of two types - closed and open.
Independently select an installation option that interests you and think through all the nuances in advance.
Fireplace Fuel Efficiency Comparison
Below is a comparison of fireplace fuel efficiency. However, before making a choice, you also need to consider the price of each type of fuel and the efficiency of the fireplace itself:
| Type of fuel | Combustion efficiency |
| Tree | 4.4 kWh per kilogram; |
| Natural gas | 10.8 kWh per kilogram; |
| Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) | 13.8 kWh per kilogram; |
| Ethanol | 8.3 kWh per kilogram. |
Efficiency of wood fireplaces
Let's take a closer look at the efficiency of wood-burning fireplaces depending on their type.
- Standard open fireplace - up to 10% efficiency;
- Fireplace insert - efficiency from 20 to 35%;
- Simple rising furnace or heater (unpressurized) - efficiency from 20 to 40%;
- Sealed stove or heater - 50 to 70% efficient.
Traditional fuel-burning open fireplaces are very inefficient, but their designer look adds style to the space. Only the small amount of heat they generate is radiated into the room. The remaining heat is lost into the air or escapes into the chimney. Modifications and various inserts are installed to ensure that the wood burning fireplace is functional.
Important! A well-designed and properly positioned fireplace in your home will allow you to operate at maximum efficiency, transferring more heat into your home while providing a significant reduction in harmful emissions.
For closed fireplaces, special tempered glass is used that is resistant to high temperatures.
A wood burning stove is perfect for heating small spaces.
Cast iron is not afraid of open fire, so the majority of fireplace stoves are made from this metal
Types of stoves
All brick stove fireplaces can be:
- With an open firebox. This fireplace quickly heats up the room. If the design includes a hob, then cooking food on it will not be difficult. Having such a fireplace, you can cook a barbecue right at home at any time of the year.
- With air heating. This option uses a cast iron firebox, which is considered one of the best. The air ducts of the structure extend throughout the entire room, so such a stove is capable of completely heating the room. The design of this fireplace is designed in such a way that not yet heated air is directed directly into the pipes for heating.
- With water heating. Such models are becoming increasingly popular; they are often used for baths and include a hob and heating panel.
Style
Options for brick fireplace stove styles:
- Minimalism. In most cases, experts advise not to use elaborate details and stick to minimalism. A fireplace-stove in this style will be an ideal option for most rooms and will only complement the overall look of the living room.
- Classic. If your country house is designed in a classic style, you should install a brick fireplace of a similar design. These types of stoves are usually installed flush with the wall and have U-shaped protrusions.
- Country style. Suitable for a colorful dacha, designed in a style with a predominance of household details made of wood. In this option, you can use a Russian fireplace stove.
A well-chosen style will play the last but no less important role. If the owner of the house cannot decide on the design style, we advise you to turn to professionals, since an incorrectly selected fireplace stove can ruin the overall appearance of the entire room.
1
( 2 ratings, average: 2.50 out of 5)
Back
TV above the fireplace [How to install correctly? Ideas and advice from designers]
MORE
Choosing a fireplace with different combustion methods
| Fireplace type | Combustion efficiency |
| Standard open fireplace | up to 10% efficiency; |
| Fireplace insert | efficiency from 20 to 35%; |
| Simple rising furnace or heater (non-pressurized) | efficiency from 20 to 40%; |
| Sealed stove or heater | efficiency from 50 to 70%. |
The simplest fireplace is an ordinary open hearth, creating an atmosphere of warmth and comfort. But no matter how attractive they are with their living flame, such fireplaces require large financial costs for construction and energy costs. In addition, such fireplaces pollute the air to a greater extent, no matter how ideally the exhaust system works.
The problem can be solved by improved, modern fireplaces for the home, which, thanks to new technologies, can operate in residential areas with much more efficient performance and safety.
Classic open wood fireplace in the living room
A cozy place by the fireplace is perfect for home conversations
Beautiful combination of black and white in minimalist style
Fireplace inserts (inserts)
Fireplace inserts (inserts) are hollow metal structures built into an open fireplace. Instead of heat going straight up, the air in the chimney circulates around the insert and heats the room.
These indoor fireplaces can additionally be equipped with doors and air controls, as well as fans to help move hot air into the room.
A fireplace insert in the kitchen is a bold but justified decision
Malachite-colored marble tiles are perfect for decorating a fireplace in the interior
Decorative brickwork will highlight the nobility of the fireplace
Long-burning stove-fireplace
This stove is a closed type of fireplace, the main feature of which is the uncontrolled flow of air, resulting in the so-called effect of “prolonged burning of fuel - pyrolysis”. Despite the high initial costs, such stoves have proven themselves well. However, it is worth noting that they are less efficient than a regular wood or gas fireplace and are more suitable for small spaces.
A long-burning fireplace stove combines an airtight firebox, air intake controls, baffles and secondary air inlets, and a combustion chamber that maximizes fuel-to-heat conversion.
Pyrolysis combustion allows wood to burn almost completely, resulting in less ash remaining inside. More efficient units are being installed into existing masonry to improve home heating.
You can make the fireplace stand out against a white wall by choosing a contrasting black color for it.
A pleasant relaxation by the fireplace gives you a feeling of boundless happiness and improves your mood.
Modern fireplaces are so mobile that they can be placed anywhere
The fireplace adds sophistication and uniqueness to the room
Wood burning fireplaces for the home
Wood is a renewable natural resource, so there should not be a shortage of this type of fuel; it can always be obtained quickly and easily.
Waste in the form of ash can also be used, for example, to fertilize the soil in the garden. After all, wood ash is a source of potassium, phosphorus and many other useful microelements. The main thing is to act with caution and not to overdo it, since the excessive presence of ash increases the pH of the soil, which will not have the best effect on most cultivated plants.
With fireplaces you can easily transform your interior, creating home comfort in it.
Positive aspects of the fireplace stove
The development of technology allows you to choose modern fireplace models, forgetting about traditional designs. However, fireplace stoves will always be relevant in dachas and even in the private homes of many citizens. The design consists of monoblocks with a pipe channel. Unlike a conventional fireplace, they have a multi-channel chimney. A distinctive feature of a fireplace stove is the presence of an oven or hob. It is this feature that is becoming so relevant in modern dachas. A brick fireplace stove has the following positive aspects:
- high speed of heating the room;
- selection of operating functions, which allows you to use the fireplace and stove together or separately;
- ease and ease of use;
- serves for several decades with proper and high-quality installation.
